Display control apparatus, display control method, and program

ABSTRACT

A display control apparatus controls display of a transparent display which includes a screen configured to transmit light arriving from an object located on a side of a second surface so that the object is viewable from a viewpoint located on a side of a first surface which is an opposite surface to the second surface. The display control apparatus includes: an acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating relative positional relations between the transparent display and the viewpoint and between the transparent display and the object; and a display control unit that controls the display of the transparent display based on the position information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. JP 2011-150485 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Jul. 6, 2011,the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a display control apparatus, a displaycontrol method, and a computer program.

In recent years, transparent displays that include a screen transmittinglight from one surface side to the other surface side have been realizedand developed. The transparent displays are realized by liquid crystalsuch as polymer-dispersed liquid crystal. The liquid crystal diffuseslight when an application voltage is in an off-state, and transmitslight when the application voltage is in an on-state.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-183378discloses a technology of changing the direction of characters or signsdisplayed on the screen of a transparent display depending on a surfaceof a transparent display viewed by a user in a portable telephoneincluding the transparent display.

SUMMARY

In the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2010-183378, when a user views an object through atransparent display from a given viewpoint, characters or signs on thescreen of the transparent display may not be displayed in a suitablestate for the user. For example, the characters or the signs displayedon the screen of the transparent display may hinder the user fromviewing the object.

It is desirable to provide a novel and improved display controlapparatus, a novel and improved display control method, and a novel andimproved computer program suitable for viewing an object from aviewpoint through a transparent display.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provideda display control apparatus controlling display of a transparent displaywhich includes a screen configured to transmit light arriving from anobject located on a side of a second surface so that the object isviewable from a viewpoint located on a side of a first surface which isan opposite surface to the second surface. The display control apparatusincludes: an acquisition unit that acquires position informationindicating relative positional relations between the transparent displayand the viewpoint and between the transparent display and the object;and a display control unit that controls the display of the transparentdisplay based on the position information.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided a display control method of controlling display of atransparent display which includes a screen configured to transmit lightarriving from an object located on a side of a second surface so thatthe object is viewable from a viewpoint located on a side of a firstsurface which is an opposite surface to the second surface. The displaycontrol method includes: acquiring position information indicatingrelative positional relations between the transparent display and theviewpoint and between the transparent display and the object; andcontrolling the display of the transparent display based on the positioninformation.

According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, thereis provided a computer program causing a computer, which is directly orindirectly connected to a transparent display which includes a screenconfigured to transmit light arriving from an object located on a sideof a second surface so that the object is viewable from a viewpointlocated on a side of a first surface which is an opposite surface to thesecond surface, to execute: acquiring position information indicatingrelative positional relations between the transparent display and theviewpoint and between the transparent display and the object; andcontrolling the display of the transparent display based on the positioninformation. Here, the computer program may be supplied using a computerreadable recording medium or may be supplied via a communication unit orthe like.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above,it is possible to realize the display of the transparent displaysuitable for viewing an object from a viewpoint through the transparentdisplay.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a displaycontrol system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating positional relations between atransparent display and a viewpoint and between the transparent displayand an object;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a logicalconfiguration of a display control apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method of specifying the direction ofthe viewpoint on an xz plane (horizontal plane);

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of specifying the position ofthe viewpoint on the xz plane (horizontal plane);

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of specifying the direction ofthe viewpoint on a yz plane;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a first example of an interferenceregion;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the interferenceregion;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the interferenceregion;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example of the interferenceregion;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display object in thescreen including the interference region;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of the display objectin the screen including the interference region;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display objectmoving in the screen including the interference region;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an interference region according to amodified example;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display object ofwhich a display position is changed;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display object ofwhich a display attribute is changed;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display position ofthe display object for a stereoscopic view;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display objectdisplayed to be stereoscopically viewed;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating another example of the display objectdisplayed to be stereoscopically viewed;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a collisionprevention object;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a timing example of display of thecollision prevention object;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the collisionprevention object;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a timing example of display of acollision prevention object in accordance with the position of anobject;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the display control apparatus according to anembodiment;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a first example of a schematicprocessing flow of a display control process according to an embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a second example of the schematicprocessing flow of the display control process according to anembodiment; and

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a third example of the schematicprocessing flow of the display control process according to anembodiment;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that,in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elementsthat have substantially the same function and structure are denoted withthe same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of thesestructural elements is omitted.

The description will be made in the following order.

-   -   1. Overview of Display Control System    -   2. Configuration of Display Control Apparatus        -   2.1. Logical Configuration of Display Control Apparatus        -   2.2. Display Control Unit        -   2.3. Hardware Configuration of Display Control Apparatus    -   3. Processing Flow    -   4. Summarization        1. Overview of Display Control System

First, the overall configuration of a display control system accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described withreference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating anexample of a display control system 1 according to this embodiment. Thedisplay control system 1 according to this embodiment includes atransparent display 10, a camera 20, and a display control apparatus100. In FIG. 1 and other drawings, x, y, and z axes representing threeperpendicular axes in a three-dimensional space are illustrated. Morespecifically, the x axis represents an axis parallel to a horizontaldirection of a screen 200 of the transparent display 10. The y axisrepresents an axis parallel to the vertical direction of the screen 200of the transparent display 10. The z axis represents an axisperpendicular to the screen 200 (xy plane) of the transparent display10.

Transparent Display 10

The transparent display 10 is a display apparatus that includes thescreen 200 configured to transmit light arriving from an object 90located on the side of a second surface so that the object 90 can beviewed from a viewpoint position set on the side of a first surfacewhich is the opposite surface to the second surface. The transparentdisplay 10 can display a generated display image on the screen 200. Thedisplay image to be displayed includes a display object 230 such as amenu, a figure, text, an icon, or a window. The transparent display 10can be realized using, for example, polymer-scattered liquid crystal(polymer-dispersed liquid crystal or polymer network liquid crystal).The transparent display 10 may be realized using other liquid crystal,an organic electro-luminescence display, or the like.

The transparent display 10 may be a touch panel apparatus that includesa touch detection surface. In this case, a display position of thedisplay object 230 displayed on the screen 200 of the transparentdisplay 10 may be changed in response to a touch on the screen 200.Further, a resistive film method, an electrostatic capacitance method,an optical method, an electromagnetic induction method, an ultrasonicwave method, or the like may be applied as the method of detecting atouch. However, the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limitedthereto, but any method of detecting a touch can be used:

The transparent display 10 may be a display apparatus that displays thedisplay object 230 on the screen 200 so as to be stereoscopicallyviewable. More specifically, the transparent display 10 displaysright-eye and left-eye images on the screen 200. The right-eye imageincludes a right-eye object of the display object 230. The left-eyeimage includes a left-eye object of the display object 230. An offset inright and left directions (that is, the x-axis direction) is presentbetween the display positions of the right-eye and left-eye objectswithin the screen 200. The offset causes a deviation (that is, aparallax between the eyes) in the relative position of the displayobject 230 to occur between the right and left retinas of a person whoviews the screen 200. The person perceives the depth of the displayobject 230 from the screen 200 due to the parallax between the eyes.Motion (that is, convergence) is caused in the right and left eyes,whose lines of sight of the display object 230 displayed to bestereoscopically viewed by the offset intersect. The person perceivesthe depth of the display object 230 also by muscle control of themotions of the eyes. A naked-eye type method such as a lenticular methodor a parallax barrier method is used as a method for stereoscopic view.In the lenticular method and the parallax barrier method, a simpleconfiguration in which the screen 200 is covered with a slit or alenticular lens is used. Accordingly, the lenticular method and theparallax barrier method are also applicable to the transparent display10. Further, another naked-eye stereoscopic method may be applied or aglasses-type method such as a polarized filter method or a liquidcrystal shutter method may be applied. In this embodiment, an arbitrarymethod of realizing stereoscopic view display in the transparent display10 is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a positional relation among thetransparent display 10, a viewpoint 80, and the object 90. In thisembodiment, the viewpoint 80 is located on the side of the first surface(that is, a direction A in FIG. 2) of the transparent display 10 and theobject 90 is located on the side of the second surface (that is, adirection B in FIG. 2) of the transparent display 10. The display of thetransparent display 10 is controlled based on a positional relationamong the three. Here, the viewpoint means both eyes of a person. Theviewpoint may mean a camera (or a lens of a camera). That is, theviewpoint refers to any agent that perceives or recognizes the object 90and the display object 230. Here, the object 90 may be a stationaryobject. Further, the object 90 may be operated or may be anindependently moving object such as a person, an animal, or a machine.

Camera 20

The camera 20 images a person located on the side of the first surface(that is, the direction A in FIG. 2) of the transparent display 10. Asshown in FIG. 1, the camera 20 is provided, for example, at the centralposition of the transparent display 10 on the xz plane (that is, thehorizontal plane) shown in FIG. 1. As will be described later, thecamera 20 has, for example, a horizontal image angle 2α and a verticalimage angle 2β. The horizontal and vertical image angles are used torecognize the direction of the viewpoint 80. The camera 20 outputs adigital image obtained through imaging to the display control apparatus100. Further, when the viewpoint means an agent (for example, a camera)other than the eyes of a person, the camera 20 may image this agent.

Display Control Apparatus 100

The display control apparatus 100 controls the display of thetransparent display 10. In this embodiment, the display controlapparatus 100 acquires position information indicating a relativepositional relation between the transparent display 10 and the viewpoint80 or the object 90, and then controls the display of the transparentdisplay 10 based on the position information. Thus, it is possible torealize the display of the transparent display suitable for viewing anobject through the transparent display from a viewpoint. The displaycontrol apparatus 100 will be described in detail in “2. Configurationof Display Control Apparatus.”

Other Configuration

The display control system 1 may further include other elements inaddition to the transparent display 10, the camera 20, and the displaycontrol apparatus 100. For example, the display control system 1 mayinclude not only the camera 20 but also an additional camera that imagesan object 90. Further, the additional camera may be a camera that canmeasure the distance of an object. To measure the distance of the object90, a camera such as a stereo camera or a camera capable of measuringthe distance of an object, such as a time-of-flight (TOF) range imagesensor, is used as the additional camera. Even when the position of theobject 90 is moved, the position of the object 90 can be recognized bythe additional camera. Further, the camera 20 may also be a cameracapable of measuring the distance.

The display control system 1 may further include a separate apparatusthat supplies information to recognize the position of the viewpoint 80or the object 90 instead of the camera 20 or the above-describedadditional camera. The separate apparatus may be an infrared sensor or apressure sensor provided on the side of the first surface (that is, thedirection A in FIG. 2) or the side of the second surface (the directionB in FIG. 2) of the transparent display 10. The separate apparatus Maybe a reception apparatus that receives radio waves from a transmitterdisposed in the vicinity of the view point 80 or the object 90 andgenerates information used to specify the position of the viewpoint 80or the object 90 based on the received radio waves. The display controlsystem 1 according to this embodiment may include any apparatus thatsupplies information used to specify the position or the distance of theviewpoint 80 or the object 90.

The display control system 1 may include an apparatus that recognizesthe position of the viewpoint 80 or the object 90 based on a digitalimage from the camera 20 or information from another apparatus. In thiscase, the display control apparatus 100 may not have a function ofrecognizing the position of the viewpoint 80 or the object 90. Thedisplay control system 1 may include an apparatus that generates adisplay image to be displayed on the transparent display 10 under thecontrol of the display control apparatus 100. In this case, the displaycontrol apparatus 100 may not have a function of generating the displayimage.

The display control system 1 may further include an input apparatus thatoperates the display object 230 displayed on the transparent display 10.Examples of the input apparatus include a mouse, a keyboard, a touchpanel, a button, a switch, a lever, a remote controller, and an externalconnection apparatus, such as a cellular phone or a PDA, correspondingto an operation of the transparent display 10.

2. Configuration of Display Control Apparatus

Next, the configuration of the display control apparatus 100 accordingto this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 24.

2.1. Logical Configuration of Display Control Apparatus

First, an example of the logical configuration of the display controlapparatus 100 according to this embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating anexample of the logical configuration of the display control apparatus100 according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, the displaycontrol apparatus 100 includes a recognition unit 110, an acquisitionunit 120, a storage unit 130, an image generation unit 140, and adisplay control unit 150.

Recognition Unit 110

The recognition unit 110 recognizes the relative position of theviewpoint 80 with respect to the transparent display 10 or the object90. For example, the position of the viewpoint 80 is the position ofboth eyes of the person located on the side of the first surface of thetransparent display 10. For example, the recognition unit 110 recognizesthe relative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect the transparentdisplay 10 or the object 90 from a digital image acquired from thecamera 20. For example, the recognition unit 110 recognizes the relativeposition of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparent display 10or the object 90 by recognizing the relative position of the face of theperson. Here, a method of recognizing the position of the viewpoint 80by recognizing the position of the face of the person will be described.Accordingly, in the recognition of the position, the viewpoint 80 issubstantially identical with the face of the person.

For example, the recognition unit 110 recognizes the relative positionof the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparent display 10 byspecifying the direction and the distance of the viewpoint 80 from thecenter of the transparent display 10 on the xz plane (that is, thehorizontal surface) shown in FIG. 1.

First, a method of specifying the direction of the viewpoint 80 from thecenter of the transparent display 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is adiagram illustrating the method of specifying the direction of theviewpoint 80 on the xz plane (horizontal plane). Referring to 4-1 ofFIG. 4, the camera 20 has a horizontal image angle of 2α. The viewpoint80 is located at an angle deviated by θ₁ to the left from the center ofthe horizontal image angle of the camera 20. Here, as shown in FIG. 1,the camera 20 is provided at the same position as the center of thetransparent display 10 on the xz plane. Accordingly, on the xz plane,the viewpoint 80 is located at an angle deviated only θ₁ from thestraight line which is parallel to the z axis and passes through thecenter of the transparent display 10. Accordingly, the direction of theviewpoint 80 from the center of the transparent display 10 on the xzplane is expressed by the angle θ₁. Further, the angle θ₁ may beexpressed as a positive value when the viewpoint 80 is deviated to theleft, and expressed as a negative value when the viewpoint 80 isdeviated to the right, or vice versa.

Referring to 4-2 of FIG. 4, a digital image 22 imaged by the camera 20is shown. The recognition unit 110 detects the face in the digital image22 and obtains a distance d₁ of the face (that is, the viewpoint 80)from the center of the digital image 22. For example, when it is assumedthat the horizontal width of the digital image 22 is 1 (that is, half ofthe horizontal width is 0.5), the distance d₁ is a positive number lessthan 0.5. In this case, the following expression is satisfied.

$\begin{matrix}{\left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\mspace{509mu}} & \; \\{\frac{\tan\;\theta_{1}}{d_{1}} = \frac{\tan\;\alpha}{0.5}} & \left( {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right)\end{matrix}$

When Equation 1 above is modified, the following equation can beobtained.

$\begin{matrix}{\left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 2} \right\rbrack\mspace{509mu}} & \; \\{\theta_{1} = {a\;{\tan\left( \frac{d}{{0.5/\tan}\;\alpha} \right)}}} & \left( {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 2} \right)\end{matrix}$

Accordingly, the recognition unit 110 can obtain the angle θ₁ using thedistance d₁ and the given horizontal image angle α. Thus, therecognition unit 110 can specify the direction θ₁ of the viewpoint 80from the center of the transparent display 10 on the xz plane.

Next, a method of specifying the distance of the viewpoint 80 from thecenter of the transparent display, 10 will be described. The recognitionunit 110 can obtain the distance D₁ of the viewpoint 80 from the camera20 in the z-axis direction from the size of the face of the persondetected from the digital image 22. For example, information (forexample, a lookup table) in which the size of the face of person in thedigital image matches the distance D₁ of the viewpoint 80 from thecamera 20 in the z-axis direction is stored in advance. Then, therecognition unit 110 obtains the distance matching the size from thedetected size of the face of the person. Further, not only the size ofthe person but also information regarding the gap between the eyes ofthe person, the estimated age of the person, or the like may be used toobtain the distance D₁ of the viewpoint 80 from the camera 20. Here, thecamera 20 is provided at the same position as the center of thetransparent display 10 on the xz plane, as shown in FIG. 1. The distanceof the viewpoint 80 from the center of the transparent display 10 is setto the distance D₁, which is the same as the distance of the viewpoint80 from the camera 20, in the z-axis direction. Accordingly, thedistance of the viewpoint 80 from the center of the transparent display10 in the z-axis direction is expressed by the distance D₁. Thus, therecognition unit 110 may specify the distance D₁ of the viewpoint 80from the center of the transparent display 10 in the z-axis direction.Further, when the center of the transparent display 10 is not the sameas the position of the camera 20 on the xz plane, but the offsetdistance between the transparent display 10 and the position of thecamera 20 is given, the distance between the transparent display 10 andthe viewpoint 80 may be specified by performing correction by the offsetdistance.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recognition unit 110 recognizes the relativeposition of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparent display 10on the xz plane by specifying the direction θ₁ and the distance D₁ ofthe viewpoint 80 from the center of the transparent display 10.

The relative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to thetransparent display 10 on the xz plane has been described with referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5. However, the relative position of the viewpoint 80with respect to the transparent display 10 may be recognized even on theyz plane. On the yz plane, as shown in FIG. 6, a vertical image angle 2βmay be used instead of the horizontal image angle 2α and a distance d₂in the digital image 22 may be obtained instead of the distance d₁ inthe digital image 22. Thus, a direction θ₂ of the viewpoint 80 withrespect to the camera 20 can be obtained by the above-described method.The distance D₁ (that is, the distance in the z-axis direction) of theviewpoint 80 from the center of the camera 20 (or the transparentdisplay 10) is likewise used even on the yz plane. On the yz plane,however, the position of the camera 20 and the position of the center ofthe transparent display 10 are different from each other by an offsetdistance D_(offset) in the y-axis direction. Accordingly, a positioncorrected in the y-axis direction by the offset distance D_(offset),which is obtained from the direction θ₂ and the distance D₁, from therelative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the camera 20becomes the relative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to thetransparent display 10 on the yz plane.

The recognition of the relative position of the viewpoint 80 withrespect to the transparent display 10 has been described above, but therelative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the object 90 maybe recognized. Further, although the recognition of the relativeposition of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparent display 10based on the digital image has been described, the embodiment of thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the relativeposition of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparent display 10may be recognized based on information obtained from another apparatus,such as an infrared sensor, a pressure sensor, or a reception apparatusother than the camera, that receives radio waves from a transmitterincluded in the object 90 or disposed in the vicinity of the viewpoint80.

The recognition unit 110 may recognize the relative position of theobject 90 with respect to the transparent display 10 or the viewpoint80. For example, the recognition unit 110 may recognize the relativeposition of the object 90 with respect to the transparent display 10 orthe viewpoint 80 from a digital image obtained from an additional cameradifferent from the camera 20 or information obtained from anotherapparatus such as an infrared sensor or a pressure sensor. Therecognition unit 110 may also recognize the size of the object 90.

Further, the recognition unit 110 may recognize a distance (hereinafterreferred to as a “touch distance”) between the transparent display 10and a person or a part (for example, a hand) of the body of the personlocated on the side of the first surface of the transparent display fromthe digital image obtained from the camera 20 or the informationobtained from another apparatus such as an infrared sensor or a pressuresensor.

Acquisition Unit 120

The acquisition unit 120 acquires position information indicating therelative positional relations between the transparent display 10 and theviewpoint 80 located on the side of the first surface (that is, thedirection A in FIG. 2) of the transparent display 10 and between thetransparent display 10 and the object 90 located on the side of thesecond surface (that is, the direction B in FIG. 2) of the transparentdisplay 10. The position information is arbitrary information indicatingthe relative positional relations between the transparent display 10 andthe viewpoint 80 and between the transparent display 10 and the object90. For example, the position information is information indicating therelative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparentdisplay 10 and the relative position of the object 90 with respect tothe transparent display 10. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG.5, the relative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to thetransparent display 10 is expressed by the direction θ₁ and the distanceD₁ of the viewpoint 80 from the center of the transparent display 10.Instead, the position information may be information indicating therelative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the object 90 andthe relative position of the object 90 with respect to the transparentdisplay 10. Further, the position information may be informationincluding the positions of the transparent display 10, the viewpoint 80,and the object 90 with respect to the origin set at one position. Thepositions of the transparent display 10, the viewpoint 80, and theobject 90 are not limited to the central points, but may be any pointamong the central points or any point in the vicinity of the centralpoints. Any point may include two or more points or may be in the rangeincluding two or more points. The position information may beinformation including the size of the object 90. The positioninformation may include not only the relative positional relation on thexz plane (that is, the horizontal surface) but also the relativeposition information on the yz plane.

More specifically, for example, the acquisition unit 120 acquires therelative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparentdisplay 10 or the object 90 from the recognition unit 110. Further, forexample, the acquisition unit 120 acquires the relative position of theobject 90 with respect to the transparent display 10 from the storageunit 130. When the recognition unit 110 recognizes the relative positionof the object 90 with respect to the transparent display 10, theacquisition unit 120 may acquire the relative position of the object 90with respect to the transparent display 10 from the recognition unit110. The acquisition unit 120 may additionally acquire the size of theobject 90.

The acquisition unit 120 may additionally acquire a touch distance as afirst distance between the transparent display 10 and a person locatedon the side of the first surface of the transparent display 10 or a partof the body of the person. For example, the acquisition unit 120 mayacquire the touch distance from the recognition unit 110.

Storage Unit 130

The storage unit 130 stores information temporarily or permanentlystored for the display control apparatus 100. In this embodiment, forexample, the storage unit 130 stores the relative position of the object90 with respect to the transparent display 10. For example, the relativeposition of the object 90 with respect to the transparent display 10 isset by an administrator of the display control apparatus 100 and isstored in the storage unit 130. Further, the relative position of theobject 90 with respect to the transparent display 10 may be recognizedby the recognition unit 110 and may be stored in the storage unit 130.In this case, the recognition unit 110 may reduce the frequency of therecognition on the assumption that the object 90 does not frequentlymove. The storage unit 130 may additionally store the size of the object90. The size of the object 90 may be set by the administrator of thedisplay control apparatus 100 or may be recognized by the recognitionunit 110.

The storage unit 130 stores information necessary for generating thedisplay image to be displayed on the screen 200 of the transparentdisplay 10. For example, the storage unit 130 stores the displayposition and the display attribute of the display object 230 necessaryfor displaying the display object 230 included in the display image. Thedisplay position and the display attribute of the display object 230 maybe determined or modified in the display control of the display controlunit 150.

Image Generation Unit 140

The image generation unit 140 generates a display image to be displayedon the screen 200 of the transparent display 10 under the control of thedisplay control unit 150. For example, the image generation unit 140generates a display image, such as a menu, a figure, text, an icon, or awindow, including the display object 230. The image generation unit 140outputs the display image to the transparent display 10.

When the transparent display 10 is a display apparatus that displays thedisplay object 230 displayed on the screen 200 so as to bestereoscopically viewable, the image generation unit 140 may generateright-eye and left-eye images.

Display Control Unit 150

The display control unit 150 controls the display of the transparentdisplay 10. In this embodiment, the display control unit 150 controlsthe display of the transparent display 10 particularly based on theposition information indicating the relative position of the viewpoint80 and the object 90 with respect to the transparent display 10. Anexample of specific display control of the display control unit 150 willbe described below in “2.2. Display Control Unit.”

2.2. Display Control Unit

Next, first to third examples of the specific display control of thedisplay control apparatus 100 according to this embodiment will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 7 to 23.

First Example of Display Control

As the first example of the display control, the display control unit150 controls the display of the transparent display 10 so that theobject 90 is viewable from the viewpoint 80 through the screen 200 ofthe transparent display 10. More specifically, the display control unit150 determines a region (hereinafter referred to as an “interferenceregion”) in the screen 200 of the transparent display 10 based on theposition information and controls the display of the transparent display10 so that the object 90 is viewable from the viewpoint 80 through theinterference region.

For example, the determined interference region includes an intersectionpoint between the screen 200 of the transparent display 10 and astraight line passing through the position of the viewpoint 80 and theposition of the object 90 in the position information or is presentaround the intersection point. FIGS. 7 to 10 are diagrams illustratingfirst to fourth examples of the interference region. Referring to FIG.7, for example, the interference region 220 has a width W₁ centered atan intersection point 210 between the screen 200 of the transparentdisplay and the straight line passing through the position of theviewpoint 80 and the position of the object 90. Of course, theinterference region 220 may not be centered at the intersection point210. The width W₁ may be changed in accordance with the size of theobject 90. Referring to FIG. 8, for example, when a larger object 90 isused, the interference region 220 may have a width W₂ wider than thewidth W₁. The width W₁ may be changed in accordance with the distancebetween the transparent display 10 and the viewpoint 80 or the distancebetween the transparent display 10 and the object 90. Referring to FIG.9, for example, as shown in 9-1 of FIG. 9, the interference region 220may have a width W₃ narrower than the width W₁, when the distancebetween the transparent display 10 and the viewpoint 80 is smaller.Further, as shown in 9-2 of FIG. 9, for example, the interference region220 may have a width W₄ wider than the width W₁, when the distancebetween the transparent display 10 and the object 90 is smaller.Referring to FIG. 10, for example, the interference region 220 mayinclude two intersection points 210 a and 210 b between the screen 200of the transparent display 10 and two straight lines passing through theposition of the viewpoint 80 and two positions of the object 90. Here,the two positions of the object 90 are, for example, the positions ofboth ends of the object 90 in the x-axis direction. The interferenceregion 220 has a width which is the sum of the width between theintersection points 210 a and 210 b and two widths W₅ on the sides. Theexample in which the interference region 220 includes the intersectionpoint 210 has been described above, but the interference region 220 maybe a region excluding the intersection point 210. That is, theinterference region 220 may be present around the intersection point. Bydetermining the interference region, a region supposed to be controlledso that the object 90 is viewable from the viewpoint 80 and a regionallowed not to be controlled can be separated from each other clearly.As a result, the display of the display object 230 can be controlled atthe region supposed to be controlled so that the view of the object 90is not interrupted, while the display object 230 can be freely displayedat the region allowed not to be controlled. Further, by determining, asthe interference region, the region including the intersection pointbetween the screen 200 of the transparent display 10 and the straightline passing through the position of the viewpoint 80 and the positionof the object 90 (or the region present in the vicinity of theintersection point), it is possible to obtain the interference regionincluding a region at which the view of the object 90 from the viewpoint80 is easily interrupted.

The display control unit 150 controls the display of the transparentdisplay 10 so that the object 90 can be viewed from the viewpoint 80through the interference region 220 by various methods. For example, thedisplay control unit 150 may control the display of the transparentdisplay 10 by causing the display object 230 to be not displayed withinthe determined interference region 220. FIG. 11 is a diagramillustrating an example of the display object 230 in the screen 200including the interference region 220. Referring to FIG. 11, a displayobject 230 a of text is displayed so as not to be included in theinterference region 220. Thus, the object 90 is not hidden by thedisplay object 230 because the display object 230 is not displayedwithin the interference region 220. That is, even when the displayobject 230 is displayed on the screen 200 of the transparent display 10;the object 90 remains easily viewable from the viewpoint 80. Forexample, the display control unit 150 may control the display of thetransparent display 10 by setting the display attribute of the displayobject 230 within the determined interference region 220 as the displayattribute in which the object 90 is viewable from the viewpoint 80. Thedisplay attribute refers to any attribute, such as a transparency, acolor, a display ON/OFF state, a size, a shape, an aspect ratio, or arotation angle of the display object 230, regarding the display of thedisplay object 230. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example ofthe display object 230 in the screen 200 including the interferenceregion 220. Referring to FIG. 12, the display object 230 a of text isdisplayed in such a manner that the transparency is increased in theinterference region 220. Instead, the display object 230 a may bedisplayed with a considerably decreased size or with an unnoticeablecolor. By changing the display attribute of the display object 230within the interference region 220, the object 90 is scarcely hidden bythe display object 230. That is, even when the display object 230 isdisplayed on the screen 200 of the transparent display 10, the object 90remains easily viewable from the viewpoint 80. For example, the displaycontrol unit 150 may control the display of the transparent display 10by not displaying the entire display screen (that is, switching thedisplay to an OFF state) in the transparent display 10.

The display object 230 may be a display object of which a displayposition can be changed through an operation of a user. FIG. 13 is adiagram illustrating an example of the display object moving within thescreen 200 including the interference region 220. As shown in 13-1 ofFIG. 13, the display position of the display object 230 a of text can bechanged in a direction C, in which the interference region 220 ispresent, through an operation such as a touch operation of a user. Then,as shown in 13-2 of FIG. 13, for example, the display object 230 a isdisplayed not in the interference region 220 but in another region. Asshown in 13-3 of FIG. 13, for example, the display object 230 a isdisplayed in such a manner that the transparency is increased in theinterference region 220. Thus, the object 90 remains easily viewable bythe display object of which the display position can be changed by anoperation of the user, and an operation is freely performed from theviewpoint 80.

The viewpoint 80 may include two or more viewpoints and the displaycontrol unit 150 may control the display of the transparent display 10so that the object 90 can be viewed from at least one of the two or moreviewpoints. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the interference region220 according to a modified example. As shown in 14-1 of FIG. 14, forexample, the display control unit 150 determines an interference region220 a for a viewpoint 80 a and an interference region 220 b for aviewpoint 80 b. Then, the display control unit 150 controls the displayof the transparent display 10 so that the object 90 can be viewed fromthe viewpoints 80 a and 80 b through the interference regions 220 a and220 b, respectively. The object 90 remains easily viewable from two ormore viewpoints by this control. The display control unit 150 maydetermine the interference region (that is, the interference region 220a or 220 b) for one of the viewpoints 80 a and 80 b. The object 90remains easily viewable from at least one viewpoint by this control, andinformation indicated by the display object 230 can be delivered to theviewpoint.

The interference region 220 with the width restricted in the horizontaldirection (that is, the x-axis direction) of the screen 200 has hithertobeen described. However, the display control unit 150 may determine theinterference region 220 with a width restricted in a vertical direction(that is, the y-axis direction) of the screen 200. When the positioninformation includes not only the relative positional relation in thehorizontal direction but also a relative positional relation in thevertical direction, the width in the vertical direction can bedetermined by the same method of the width in the horizontal direction.As shown in 14-2 of FIG. 14, for example, the interference region 220may be a region with a width restricted in the horizontal direction anda width restricted in the vertical direction. Thus, the object 90remains easily viewable from the viewpoint 80 by the interference region200 with the width restricted in the horizontal direction and the widthrestricted in the vertical direction, and the display object 230 can bedisplayed in a broader region.

The first example of the display control by the display control unit 150has been described above. However, even when the display object 230 isdisplayed on the screen 200 of the transparent display 10, the object 90remains easily viewable from the viewpoint 80 by the display control.

Second Example of Display Control

As the second example of the display control, the display control unit150 controls the display of the transparent display 10 by determiningthe display position or the display attribute of the display object 230displayed on the screen 200 of the transparent display 10 based on theposition information.

For example, the display control unit 150 changes the display positionof the display object 230 in accordance with the change in the relativeposition of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparent display 10or the relative position of the object 90 with respect to thetransparent display 10 in the position information. More specifically,for example, the display control unit 150 changes the display positionof the display object 230 in accordance with the change in the positionof the intersection point between the screen 200 of the transparentdisplay 10 and the straight line passing through the position of theviewpoint 80 and the position of the object 90 in the positioninformation. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the displayobject of which a display position is changed. As shown in 15-1 and 15-2of FIG. 15, a display object 230 b indicating a price is displayed at aposition a predetermined distance L away from the intersection point210. Thereafter, when the position of the intersection point 210 ismoved with the change in the position of the viewpoint 80, as shown in15-3 and 15-4 of FIG. 15, the position of the display object 230 bindicating the price of the object 90 is changed so as to maintain theposition the predetermined distance L away from the intersection point210. Here, the predetermined distance L may be a fixed distance or adistance changed in accordance with the position of the intersectionpoint 210. When the display position of the display object 230 ischanged with the change in the position of the viewpoint 80 or theobject 90, the display object 230 may be displayed at a position atwhich the display object 230 is desired to be viewed from the viewpoint80 irrespective of the position of the viewpoint 80. In particular, forexample, the display object 230 can follow the object 90 by changing thedisplay position of the display object 230 in accordance with the changein the intersection point 210. Accordingly, the display object 230 canbe displayed in the vicinity of the object 90 irrespective of theposition of the viewpoint 80 from which the object 90 is viewed. As aresult, both the display object 230 and the object 90 can be easilyviewed from the viewpoint 80, and thus the relevance between the displayobject 230 and the object 90 can be understood more easily.

For example, the display control unit 150 changes the display attributeof the display object 230 in accordance with the change in the relativeposition of the viewpoint 80 with respect to the transparent display 10or the relative position of the object 90 with respect to thetransparent display 10 in the position information. As described above,the display attribute refers to any attribute, such as transparency, acolor, a display ON/OFF state, a size, a shape, an aspect ratio, or arotation angle of the display object 230, regarding the display of thedisplay object 230. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of adisplay object of which a display attribute is changed. As shown in 16-1and 16-2 of FIG. 16, a square display object 230 c with rounded cornersis displayed so as to surround the object 90. Thereafter, when theposition of the viewpoint 80 is changed to a position close to thetransparent display 10, as shown in 16-3 and 16-4 of FIG. 16, thenarrower a range in which the object 90 is viewed from the viewpoint 80in the screen 200 is, the smaller the size of the square display object230 c with the rounded corners is. Thus, no matter where the viewpoint80 is located, the display object with the display attribute desired tobe viewed from the viewpoint 80 can be displayed by changing the displayattribute of the display object 230 in accordance with the change in theposition of the viewpoint 80 or the object 90.

The second example of the display control by the display control unit150 has been described above. A more desirable display of the displayobject 230 can be realized by the display control no matter whatposition of the viewpoint 80 the object 90 is viewed from.

Third Example of Display Control

In the third example of the display control, the transparent display 10displays the display object 230 so as to be stereoscopically displayedand the display control unit 150 determines the display position or thedisplay attribute of the display object 230 for a stereoscopic viewbased on the position information.

Here, for example, the display position of the display object 230 forthe stereoscopic view is a position of the display object 230 perceivedfrom the viewpoint 80 by the stereoscopic view in a three-dimensionalspace. In this case, the display position of the display object 230 forthe stereoscopic view may be the coordinates (for example, coordinates(x, y)) of the screen 200 and the coordinates (for example coordinates(x, y, z)) including the depth (for example, z) in a directionperpendicular to the screen 200 from the screen 200 in athree-dimensional space. From the position of the display object in thethree-dimensional space, the image generation unit 140 may specify thedisplay position of a left-eye object in the screen 200 (or a left-eyeimage) and the display position of a right-eye object in the screen 200(or a right-eye image). The image generation unit 140 may directlygenerate the left-eye image including the left-eye object and theright-eye image including the right-eye object by performing renderingfor the stereoscopic view based on the position of the display object inthe three-dimensional space. Further, the display position of thedisplay object for the stereoscopic view may be the display position ofthe left-eye object in the screen 200 (or the left-eye image) and thedisplay position of the right-eye object in the screen 200 (or theright-eye image).

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display position ofthe display object for the stereoscopic view. Referring to FIG. 17, aleft-eye object 230 e and a right-eye object 230 f for a left eye 82 anda right eye 84, respectively, having an offset O are displayed on thescreen 200. As a result, parallax between the eyes is generated by theoffset O, and thus the left eye 82 and the right eye 84 perceive a depthD₂ (that is, D₂ in the z axis direction) of a display object 230 d fromthe viewpoint 80. Here, for example, the display position of the displayobject for the stereoscopic view is a position (for example, thecoordinates (x, y, z)) of the display object 230 d perceived from theviewpoint 80 by the stereoscopic view in the three-dimensional space.Further, the display position of the display object for the stereoscopicview may be the display position of the left-eye object 230 e in thescreen 200 (or the left-eye image) and the display position of theright-eye object 230 f in the screen 200 (or the right-eye image).

The display attribute for the stereoscopic view refers to any attribute,such as transparency, a color, a display ON/OFF state, a size, a shape,an aspect ratio, or a rotation angle of the display object 230,regarding the display of the display object 230. For example, the shapemay be a three-dimensional shape in a space. The rotation angle may be athree-dimensional rotation angle in a space.

For example, the display control unit 150 determines the displayposition of the display object for the stereoscopic view so that thedisplay object 230 is displayed to be stereoscopically viewed at a depthin a direction (that is, the direction B in FIG. 2 or a positivedirection of the z axis) from the side of the first surface to the sideof the second surface of the transparent display 10. FIG. 18 is adiagram illustrating an example of the display object 230 displayed tobe stereoscopically viewed. Referring to FIG. 18, the display controlunit 150 determines the display position of a display object 230 g for astereoscopic view so that the display object 230 g is displayed to bestereoscopically viewed at a depth in the direction B (that is, thepositive direction of the z axis). When the display position isdetermined, the depth of the display object 230 perceived from theviewpoint 80 can be made to be closer than the actual depth from thescreen 200 at the position occupied by the object 90. As a result, theobject 90 and the display object 230 can be viewed from the viewpoint 80without considerable change in focus. As a result, since the object 90and the display object 230 can be easily viewed together from theviewpoint 80, it is possible to reduce the fatigue of the eyes of theviewpoint 80.

For example, the display control unit 150 changes the display positionor the display attribute of the display object 230 for the stereoscopicview in accordance with the change in the position of the viewpoint 80or the position of the object 90 in the position information. Referringto FIG. 19, the position of the viewpoint 80 is changed from theposition of the viewpoint 80 in FIG. 18. In this case, the displayposition and the display attribute (rotational angle) of the displayobject 230 d are changed so as to maintain the state in which thedisplay object 230 d indicates the object 90. The display object 230with the position and the attribute desired to be viewed from theviewpoint 80 in the space can be displayed irrespective, of the positionof the viewpoint 80 by changing the display position or the displayattribute of the display object 230 for the stereoscopic view inaccordance with the change in the position of the viewpoint 80 or theobject 90. For example, the display object 230 can follow the object 90in the three-dimensional space. Accordingly, the display object 230 canbe displayed in the vicinity of the object 90 irrespective of theposition of the viewpoint 80 from which the object 90 is viewed. As aresult, both the display object 230 and the object 90 can be easilyviewed from the viewpoint 80, and thus the relevance between the displayobject 230 and the object 90 can be understood more easily.

The display control unit 150 may cause a display object (hereinafterreferred to as a “collision prevention object”) to be displayed to makea person located on the side of the first surface of the transparentdisplay 10 aware of the presence of the transparent display 10. FIG. 20is a diagram illustrating a first example of the collision preventionobject. Referring to FIG. 20, for example, four circular stationarycollision prevention objects 250 a are displayed on the display 200 ofthe transparent display 10. Further, the display control unit 150 maycause the collision prevention object 250 to be displayed in accordancewith a touch distance which is the distance between the transparentdisplay 10 and the person or a part (for example, a hand) of the body ofthe person. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a timing example of thedisplay of the collision prevention object 250. Referring to FIG. 21,for example, the collision prevention object 250 is displayed when atouch distance D₃ is less than a predetermined threshold value D_(t).FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the display of thecollision prevention object. Referring to FIG. 22, for example, acollision prevention object 250 b popping up dynamically so as to beperceived by the person may be displayed on the screen 200 of thetransparent display 10 when the touch distance D₃ is less than thepredetermined threshold value D_(t). Thus, the display of the collisionprevention object 250 can prevent a situation in which theperson-collides with the transparent display 10 without being aware ofthe presence of the transparent display 10 when attempting to touch theobject 90. Further, by causing the collision prevention object 250 to bedisplayed in accordance with the touch distance, no collision preventionobject can be displayed when there is no danger of collision. As aresult, since the display object 230 can be displayed in a broaderrange, it is possible to ensure that the person easily views the object90 from the viewpoint 80.

The display control unit 150 may cause the collision prevention object250 to be displayed to the person even when the shorter the distance(hereinafter referred to as an “object disposition distance”) betweenthe positions of the transparent display 10 and the object 90 in theposition information is, the longer the touch distance is. FIG. 23 is adiagram illustrating a timing example of the display the collisionprevention object 250 in accordance with the position of the object 90.Referring to FIG. 23, the predetermined threshold value D_(t) of thetouch distance D₃ is larger when an object disposition distance D₄ issmaller, as in 23-2 of FIG. 23, than when the object dispositiondistance D₄ is larger, as in 23-1 of FIG. 23. In general, a person feelsthat it is easier to touch the object 90 with his or her hand when theobject 90 is nearer. Accordingly, when there is a high probability thatthe person will touch the object 90, the display timing of the collisionprevention object 250 is set in the above-described way to display thecollision prevention object 250 earlier, and therefore the collision canbe more likely to be prevented.

The third example of the display control by the display control unit 150has been described above. A more desirable stereoscopic display of thedisplay object 230 can be realized by the display control no matter whatposition of the viewpoint 80 the object 90 is viewed from.

2.3. Hardware Configuration of Display Control Apparatus

Next, an example of a hardware configuration of the display controlapparatus 100 according to this embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 24. FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating an exampleof the hardware configuration of the display control apparatus 100according to the embodiment. Referring to FIG. 24, the display controlapparatus 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 181, a read-onlymemory (ROM) 183, a random access memory (RAM) 185, a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU) 187, a bus 189, a storage device 191, and aninput/output interface 193.

The CPU 181 functions as an arithmetic processing device and a controldevice and controls all or some of the processes of the display controlapparatus 100 in accordance with various programs stored in the ROM 183,the RAM 185, or the storage device 191. The ROM 183 stores programs,calculation parameters, or the like used by the CPU 181. The RAM 185preliminarily stores the programs used by the CPU 181 or parameters orthe like changed appropriately in execution of the programs. The GPU 187performs various processes associated with the display of a displayapparatus (for example, the transparent display 10) first fromgeneration of a display screen. The bus 189 connects the CPU 181, theROM 183, the RAM 185, and the GPU 187 to each other. Further, thestorage device 191 and the input/output interface 193 are connected tothe bus 189.

For example, the storage device 191 stores various kinds of data such asbasic software such as an operation system (OS) or applications. Here,examples of the storage device 191 include a magnetic recording mediumsuch as a hard disk and a non-volatile memory such as an electricallyerasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, amagnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), a ferroelectric randomaccess memory (FeRAM), or a phase-change random access memory (PRAM),but the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to thementioned examples.

For example, the input/output interface 193 connects the transparentdisplay 10, the camera 20, and the like to each other. Here, examples ofthe input/output interface 193 include a universal serial bus (USB)terminal, a digital visual interface (DVI) terminal, and ahigh-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) terminal, but the embodimentof the present disclosure is not limited to the mentioned examples.

3. Processing Flow

Hereinafter, first to third examples of a display control processaccording to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.25 to 27.

First Example of Display Control Process

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a first example of a schematicprocessing flow of the display control process according to thisembodiment. In the first example of the display control process, thedisplay of the transparent display 10 is controlled by determining thedisplay position or the display attribute of the display object 230displayed on the screen 200 of the transparent display 10 based on theposition information indicating the relative positional relationsbetween the transparent display 10 and the viewpoint 80 and between thetransparent display 10 and the object 90.

Referring to FIG. 25, in step S310, the recognition unit 110 firstrecognizes the relative position of the viewpoint 80 with respect to thetransparent display 10 or the object 90.

Next, in step S320, the acquisition unit 120 acquires the positioninformation indicating the relative positional relations between thetransparent display 10 and the viewpoint 80 and between the transparentdisplay 10 and the object 90.

Next, in step S330, based on the position information, the displaycontrol unit 150 determines the display position or the displayattribute of the display object 230 to be displayed on the screen 200 ofthe transparent display 10.

In step S340, based on the determined display position or the determineddisplay attribute, the image generation unit 140 generates the displayimage including the display object 230 to be displayed on the screen 200of the transparent display 10.

Second Example of Display Control Process

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a second example of the schematicprocessing flow of the display control process according to thisembodiment. In the second example of the display control process, thedisplay position of the display object 230 is determined so that theobject 90 can be viewed from the viewpoint 80 through the screen 200 ofthe transparent display 10 in step S330 of the first example of thedisplay control process. Here, only step S332, step S334, and step S336of the second example of the display control process, which aredifferent from those of the first example of the display control processshown in FIG. 25, will be described.

In step S332, the display control unit 150 determines the interferenceregion 220 based on the position information indicating the relativepositional relations between the transparent display 10 and theviewpoint 80 and between the transparent display 10 and the object 90.

Next, in step S334, the display control unit 150 determines whether adisplay object overlapping the interference region 220 is present in thedisplay object 230 included in the display image. When the displayobject 230 overlapping the interference region 220 is present, theprocess proceeds to step S336. Conversely, when the display object 230overlapping the interference region 220 is not present, the processproceeds to step S340.

In step S336, the display control unit 150 changes the display positionof the display object 230 overlapping the interference region 220 sothat the display object 230 does not overlap the interference region220.

Third Example of Display Control Process

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a third example of the schematicprocessing flow of the display control process according to thisembodiment. In the third example of the schematic processing flow of thedisplay control process, the display position of the display object 230is changed in accordance with the change in the position of theviewpoint 80 or the object 90 in step S330 of the first example of thedisplay control process. Here, only step S338 and step S339 of the thirdexample of the display control process, which are different from thoseof the first example of the display control process shown in FIG. 25,will be described.

In step S338, the display control unit 150 specifies the intersectionpoint between the screen 200 of the transparent display 10 and thestraight line passing through the position of the viewpoint 80 and theposition of the object 90 in the position information.

Next, in step S339, the display control unit 150 determines the positionof the display object 230 in accordance with the position of theintersection point.

4. Summarization

The display control system 1 and the display control apparatus 100according the embodiment of the present disclosure have been describedabove with reference to FIGS. 1 to 27. According to this embodiment, thedisplay of the transparent display 10 can be realized so as to besuitable for viewing the object 90 from the viewpoint 80 through thetransparent display 10.

For example, in the first display control, the display of thetransparent display 10 is controlled so that the object 90 can be viewedfrom the viewpoint 80 through the screen 200 of the transparent display10. Thus, even when the display object 230 is displayed on the screen200 of the transparent display 10, the object 90 remains easily viewablefrom the viewpoint 80.

In the second display control, the display of the transparent display 10is controlled by determining the display position or the displayattribute of the display object 230 to be displayed on the screen 200 ofthe transparent display 10 based on the position information. Thus, nomatter what position of the viewpoint 80 the object 90 is viewed from,the more desirable display of the display object 230 can be realized.

In the third display control, the display of the transparent display 10is controlled by determining the display position or the displayattribute of the display object 230 for the stereoscopic view based onthe position information. Thus, no matter what position of the viewpoint80 the object 90 is viewed from, the more desirable display of thedisplay object 230 can be realized.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

In the above-described embodiment, for example, the display controlapparatus including the recognition unit and the image generation unithas been described, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.For example, the display control apparatus may not include therecognition unit and the image generation unit and another apparatusdirectly or indirectly connected to the display control apparatus mayinclude the recognition unit and the image generation unit.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1) A display control apparatus controlling display of a transparentdisplay which includes a screen configured to transmit light arrivingfrom an object located on a side of a second surface so that the objectis viewable from a viewpoint located on a side of a first surface whichis an opposite surface to the second surface, the apparatus comprising:

an acquisition unit that acquires position information indicatingrelative positional relations between the transparent display and theviewpoint and between the transparent display and the object; and

a display control unit that controls the display of the transparentdisplay based on the position information.

(2) The display control apparatus according to (1), wherein the displaycontrol unit controls the display of the transparent display based onthe position information by determining a display position or a displayattribute of a display object displayed on the screen of the transparentdisplay.

(3) The display control apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein thedisplay control unit controls the display of the transparent display sothat the object is viewable from the viewpoint through the screen of thetransparent display.

(4) The display control apparatus according to (3), wherein the displaycontrol unit determines a region on the screen of the transparentdisplay based on the position information and controls the display ofthe transparent display so that the object is viewable from theviewpoint through the region.

(5) The display control apparatus according to (4), wherein thedetermined region includes an intersection point between the screen ofthe transparent display and a straight line passing through a positionof the viewpoint and a position of the object in the positioninformation or is present around the intersection point.

(6) The display control apparatus according to (4) or (5), wherein thedisplay control unit controls the display of the transparent display bycausing a display object to be not displayed in the determined region.

(7) The display control apparatus according to (4) or (5), wherein thedisplay control unit controls the display of the transparent display bysetting a display attribute of a display object in the determined regionas a display attribute in which the object is viewable from theviewpoint.

(8) The display control apparatus according to (6) or (7), wherein thedisplay object is a display object of which a display position ischanged through an operation of a user.

(9) The display control apparatus according to any one of (3) to (8),

wherein the viewpoint includes two or more viewpoints, and

the display control unit controls the display of the transparent displayso that the object is viewable from at least one of the two or moreviewpoints.

(10) The display control apparatus according to (2), wherein the displaycontrol unit changes the display position or the display attribute ofthe display object in accordance with a change in a relative position ofthe viewpoint with respect to the transparent display or a relativeposition of the object with respect to the transparent display in theposition information.

(11) The display control apparatus according to (10), wherein thedisplay control unit changes the display position of the display objectin accordance with a change in a position of an intersection pointbetween the screen of the transparent display and a straight linepassing through a position of the viewpoint and a position of the objectin the position information.

(12) The display control apparatus according to (2),

wherein the transparent display displays the display object so as to bestereoscopically viewable, and

the display control unit determines the display position or the displayattribute of the display object for a stereoscopic view based on theposition information.

(13) The display control apparatus according to (12), wherein thedisplay control unit determines the display position of the displayobject for the stereoscopic view so that the display object isstereoscopically viewed with a depth in a direction from the side of thefirst surface of the transparent display to the side of the secondsurface of the transparent display.

(14) The display control apparatus according to (12) or (13), whereinthe display control unit changes the display position or the displayattribute of the display object for the stereoscopic view in accordancewith a change in a position of the viewpoint or a position of the objectin the position information.

(15) The display control apparatus according to any one of (12) to (14),wherein the display control unit causes a display object to be displayedto make a person located on the side of the first surface of thetransparent display aware of a presence of the transparent display.

(16) The display control apparatus according to (15),

wherein the acquisition unit additionally acquires a first distancebetween the transparent display and the person or a part of a body ofthe person, and

the display control unit causes the display object to be displayed tomake the person aware of the presence of the transparent display inaccordance with the first distance.

(17) The display control apparatus according to (16), wherein thedisplay control unit causes the display object to be displayed to makethe person aware of the presence of the transparent display, even whenthe shorter a second distance between a position of the transparentdisplay and a position of the object in the position information is, thelonger the first distance is.

(18) The display control apparatus according to any one of (1) to (17),

wherein the viewpoint is eyes of a person located on the side of thefirst surface of the transparent display, and

the display control apparatus recognizes a relative position of theviewpoint with respect to the transparent display or the object byrecognizing a relative position of a face of the person with respect tothe transparent display or the object.

(19) A display control method of controlling display of a transparentdisplay which includes a screen configured to transmit light arrivingfrom an object located on a side of a second surface so that the objectis viewable from a viewpoint located on a side of a first surface whichis an opposite surface to the second surface, the display control methodcomprising:

acquiring position information indicating relative positional relationsbetween the transparent display and the viewpoint and between thetransparent display and the object; and

controlling the display of the transparent display based on the positioninformation.

(20) A computer program for causing a computer, which is directly orindirectly connected to a transparent display which includes a screenconfigured to transmit light arriving from an object located on a sideof a second surface so that the object is viewable from a viewpointlocated on a side of a first surface which is an opposite surface to thesecond surface, to execute:

acquiring position information indicating relative positional relationsbetween the transparent display and the viewpoint and between thetransparent display and the object; and

controlling the display of the transparent display based on the positioninformation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display control apparatus controlling display of a transparent display which includes a screen configured to transmit light arriving from an object located on a side of a second surface so that the object is viewable from a viewpoint located on a side of a first surface which is an opposite surface to the second surface, the apparatus comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating relative positional relations between the transparent display and the viewpoint and between the transparent display and the object; and a display control unit that controls the display of the transparent display based on the position information, wherein the display control unit controls the display of the transparent display based on the position information by determining a display attribute of a display object displayed on the screen of the transparent display, wherein the display control unit determines a region on the screen of the transparent display based on the position information and controls the display of the transparent display so that the object is viewable from the viewpoint through the region, wherein the display control unit controls the display of the transparent display based on a width of the region, wherein the width of the region varies in accordance with a distance between the transparent display and the viewpoint or a distance between the transparent display and the object, wherein the display control unit changes the display attribute of the display object in accordance with a change in a relative position of the viewpoint with respect to the transparent display or a relative position of the object with respect to the transparent display in the position information to maintain a state of the display object in relation to the object, wherein the transparent display displays the display object so as to be stereoscopically viewable, and wherein the display control unit determines the display attribute of the display object for a stereoscopic view based on the position information.
 2. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit further controls the display of the transparent display based on the position information by determining a display position of the display object displayed on the screen of the transparent display.
 3. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls the display of the transparent display so that the object is viewable from the viewpoint through the screen of the transparent display.
 4. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determined region includes an intersection point between the screen of the transparent display and a straight line passing through a position of the viewpoint and a position of the object in the position information or is present around the intersection point.
 5. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls the display of the transparent display by causing the display object to be not displayed in the determined region.
 6. The display control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display object is a display object of which a display position is changed through an operation of a user.
 7. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the viewpoint includes two or more viewpoints, and the display control unit controls the display of the transparent display so that the object is viewable from at least one of the two or more viewpoints.
 8. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit determines a display position of the display object for the stereoscopic view so that the display object is stereoscopically viewed with a depth in a direction from the side of the first surface of the transparent display to the side of the second surface of the transparent display.
 9. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit causes the display object to be displayed to make a person located on the side of the first surface of the transparent display aware of a presence of the transparent display.
 10. The display control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the acquisition unit additionally acquires a first distance between the transparent display and the person or a part of a body of the person, and the display control unit causes the display object to be displayed to make the person aware of the presence of the transparent display in accordance with the first distance.
 11. The display control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the display control unit causes the display object to be displayed to make the person aware of the presence of the transparent display, in an event a second distance between a position of the transparent display and a position of the object in the position information is shorter than the first distance.
 12. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the viewpoint is eyes of a person located on the side of the first surface of the transparent display, and the display control apparatus recognizes a relative position of the viewpoint with respect to the transparent display or the object by recognizing a relative position of a face of the person with respect to the transparent display or the object.
 13. A display control method of controlling display of a transparent display which includes a screen configured to transmit light arriving from an object located on a side of a second surface so that the object is viewable from a viewpoint located on a side of a first surface which is an opposite surface to the second surface, the display control method comprising: acquiring position information indicating relative positional relations between the transparent display and the viewpoint and between the transparent display and the object; and controlling the display of the transparent display based on the position information, wherein the controlling of the display of the transparent display based on the position information includes determining a display attribute of a display object displayed on the screen of the transparent display, wherein the controlling of the display of the transparent display includes determining a region on the screen of the transparent display based on the position information so that the object is viewable from the viewpoint through the region, wherein the controlling of the display of the transparent display is based on a width of the region, wherein the width of the region varies in accordance with a distance between the transparent display and the viewpoint or a distance between the transparent display and the object, wherein the controlling includes changing the display attribute of the display object in accordance with a change in a relative position of the viewpoint with respect to the transparent display or a relative position of the object with respect to the transparent display in the position information to maintain a state of the display object in relation to the object, wherein the transparent display displays the display object so as to be stereoscopically viewable, and wherein the controlling includes determining the display attribute of the display object for a stereoscopic view based on the position information.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer-executable instructions for causing a computer, which is directly or indirectly connected to a transparent display which includes a screen configured to transmit light arriving from an object located on a side of a second surface so that the object is viewable from a viewpoint located on a side of a first surface which is an opposite surface to the second surface, to execute: acquiring position information indicating relative positional relations between the transparent display and the viewpoint and between the transparent display and the object; and controlling the display of the transparent display based on the position information, wherein the controlling of the display of the transparent display based on the position information includes determining a display attribute of a display object displayed on the screen of the transparent display, wherein the controlling of the display of the transparent display includes determining a region on the screen of the transparent display based on the position information so that the object is viewable from the viewpoint through the region, wherein the controlling of the display of the transparent display is based on a width of the region, wherein the width of the region varies in accordance with a distance between the transparent display and the viewpoint or a distance between the transparent display and the object, wherein the controlling includes changing the display attribute of the display object in accordance with a change in a relative position of the viewpoint with respect to the transparent display or a relative position of the object with respect to the transparent display in the position information to maintain a desired state of the display object in relation to the object, wherein the transparent display displays the display object so as to be stereoscopically viewable, and wherein the controlling includes determining the display attribute of the display object for a stereoscopic view based on the position information.
 15. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state is the display object being displayed indicating the object. 